UGA: Brent Benedict free to transfer anywhere he wants
Brent Benedict has been granted an unconditional release by the University of Georgia, Athletic Director Greg McGarity confirmed Tuesday.
McGarity
The redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Jacksonville is free to transfer to any school of his choosing, and that includes Florida or Georgia Tech or any of the Bulldogs’ bitter rivals.
Such is the athletic department’s policy under McGarity. If a student-athlete is unhappy at UGA, then he’s free to seek happiness elsewhere, he said.
“I bring the same philosophy as we had at Florida,” said McGarity, who was an associate AD for the Gators for 18 years before returning to his alma mater last year. “If a kid’s not happy, we just want him to be happy. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I don’t care where he goes. These four or five years are the supposed to be the best and most important of these kids’ lives and they need to be happy.”
As for Benedict’s depature, McGarity said, “Things just didn’t work out. I’m sympathetic to that. They just need to be in a happy place.”
There’s at least some chance Benedict, a former five-star recruit, could end up back in the SEC East. Florida and South Carolina were among his finalists — along with Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern Cal — when he chose the Bulldogs in the fall of 2009. Benedict’s father, Ed Benedict, told the Athens Banner-Herald, “I would imagine some of them would take a look at him again.”
McGarity said UGA would not block Benedict’s transfer anywhere.
“It’s the theory of plenty,” he said. “There’s plenty of good ones everywhere. I don’t worry if they go to Florida or Tech and may come back to beat us. You can’t think that way. Life’s too short. [Student-athletes] are our most valuable resource. If they’re not happy here, I want to see them happy somewhere.”
McGarity said the only situation in which he might block a potential would be if he knew there was some kind of tampering by another school beforehand.
Benedict was a five-star prospect before suffering a devastating knee injury that included nerve damage and a required complete reconstruction his senior season in high school. Benedict claimed in March to be “100 percent” recovered from that injury and was medically cleared to play. But he continued to show effects of that injury even in summer workouts.
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254 comments Add your comment
Georgia Strong
June 29th, 2011
7:03 am
Truth I am with you 67%. Your 1st 2 paragraphs dead on accurate and refreshing after wasting an hour reading all this mostly crap from CharmuttDog on meth. Wow. But it was hardly a bad “fit”. BB worked his ass off and did everything asked of him. Sorry if that’s not as simple as everyone wants to hear.
swga
June 29th, 2011
7:18 am
This is what a university should do. Way to lead by example! Coaches get to up and move at anytime. Why tell a player you can only go to certain places? Way to lead from the front UGA!
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 29th, 2011
7:18 am
The more I read about this kid, the more I realize that his father is guiding the ship and he doesn’t think his son can perform a rigorous S and C required at UGA this year. His father says from one time to the next that the kid is anywhere from 75-100% rehabilitated. I think his biggest problem, is he being given advice and being told by his father, that he should be starting this year, and since the rigorous S and C can’t possibly help him, he needs to go, where the demands will not be as great on him to perform at his full potential.
I think it is a shame that UGA wasted money on him, since it appears, his father is playing on the field vicariously through his son. I am not sure if too many other institutions would have taken a chance on this kid, given the severity of his injury, but hind sight is 50-50, in this case. It is 3 years removed since he was a big time high school recruit so those 5 stars do not mean a thing now. If he is able to perform at another school, then good luck for him. I am not sure UGA needs this type of player anyway. I think he would be a good fit with Easley at Jacksonville since he and his father appear to be more worried about him and less worried about the team he plays for. It is a shame though, that he has gotten all the benefits of a scholarship and has not given a whole lot back to the university that gave him those benefits. CMR agreed, not to say too much about the whole thing since it is the why this kids father wanted it. I think he is hoping hat another team or teams will not look at this as a character issue.
Brown Dog
June 29th, 2011
7:36 am
Not a Georgia alum or fan, but I wouldn’t worry too much about the university being short-changed. Because it pursues and signs 5-star recruits like Benedict, UGA whips up excitement that leads to millions in contributions from its fan base. It collects millions more in logo sales and tens of millions on top of that from its conference and TV affiliations.
Sorry Benedict didn’t work out. Relatively few of them do. Schools like Georgia, Alabama and Florida still get paid.
Dogs Smell
June 29th, 2011
8:07 am
Georgia could give Florida their playbook a year ahead of time and Georgia would still lose to Florida !-
AltamahaDawg
June 29th, 2011
8:12 am
The key to beating Florida is to bring a better team than them to Jville. In the history of that game, that is single most reliable determining factor.
Rhall55
June 29th, 2011
8:25 am
UGA has let a lot of top notch linemen slip thru their fingers (from the state of GA) in the last years: Warmack @ AL, Carpenter @ AL, Shepherd @ AL, AJ Hawkins @ Ole Miss, Watkins @ SC, Broome @ SC, James @ TN and others I cannot name; CMR has put himself in this position by not recruiting enough depth; “Win Baby Win”!! “You Snooze, You Lose”!!!
Tech Fan
June 29th, 2011
9:56 am
As a Tech graduate, i have to say that UGA, Richt and McGarity handled this whole episode with class. Richt kept his commitment to Benedict when he injured his knee and honored the schlorship offer. McGarity has granted Benedict his unconditional release when the student athlete was not happy at UGA for whatever reason. I think it is better to have only student athletes that are happy to be at your school and comitted to be all in for all of the practice, conditioning and other requirements necessary to compete in major college football. If your heart is not in it 100% at your school, you need to move on. Nice to see there are no hard feelings.
WDE
June 29th, 2011
11:13 am
@Dogs Smell you know if UGA gave their playbook to the Gators a year in advance I would expect them to lose…you bloody moron!
Trojan
June 29th, 2011
11:27 am
Benedict sounds less that loyal.
He is a kid
June 29th, 2011
11:31 am
I never begrudge any kid that wants to leave UGA or The U of SO and So for greener pastures. They navigate their lives and so let us move on. Cam Newton made a decsion that worked out well for him.
Terrell Davis ( Denver Bronco fame ) left Cal Davis to play for UGA and he did only well in his last UGA game vs GT and then made a name for himself in NFL.
It happens because of girlfriends, discontent for any number of reasons with a coach, family issues and it happens all the time. There is nothing here.
Move on clowns.
longdog
June 29th, 2011
11:43 am
Alot of you say Benedict is going to UF where has this been documented or are you blowing smoke please confirm
barrow dog
June 29th, 2011
11:49 am
i think the school is doing the right thing, but just out of curiosity… who paid the medical bills?
mgdawg
June 29th, 2011
12:41 pm
I think benedict’s dad thinks more of him then other coach’s will. The kid tore up his knee nearly two years ago, and according to the kid he can’t fully participate in workouts still. Getting hit, and having other olineman falling on you, is way tougher on the knee then any workout. From this view, I can’t see any major D1 program taking a chance on him, I think his best bet right now would be juco if he wants to play major D1.
As for mcgarity’s philosophy, you have to respect it. Not to mention, I’ve never really heard of a person transferring in a situation like this where they actually turned out to be that good.
TechFan
June 29th, 2011
12:45 pm
It’s good to see this kind of attitude from the AD. Glad to see our State has class acts on both sides of the Tech/UGA Divide.
savannadawg
June 29th, 2011
12:48 pm
Look, the injury was avery bad one. he was probably healed enough to play in a limited role, I don’t really know. But I would be willing to say this, he had an injury similar to Robert Edwards, and with all do respect to Robert and his rehabilitation he was never the same, and that goes for Benedict too. A lineman even needs to be healthier because not only the weight he is carrying but also the weight he is trying to move.
NCBulldawg86
June 29th, 2011
12:58 pm
To the folks who say don’t give injured HS kids a chance would not have taken Aaron Murray, right? I mean, he broke his leg his Senior year, and you know what? He still led his team to a State Championship. And you know what Part II? He did damn fine as a freshman QB at UGA.
Bunch of small minded folks around these blogs with that kind of thinking.
NCBulldawg86
June 29th, 2011
1:10 pm
Hey, Tide Roll…!!! Can you read this year’s list of recruits? UGA and Mark RIcht signed 6 OL, almost 25% of the class. Are you just simply a dumb ass, or a moron? Because it is one or the other. Your incessant whining reminds me of a gnat buzzing his high pitched little buzz in my ear. Lord, it is tiring and old. Get a new schtick. Your routine is stale and old. Move along, boy, you’re bothering me.
Uuugh
June 29th, 2011
1:12 pm
NCBulldawg86 channeling Les Miles.
I think that there are degrees of injury. Wasn’t Murray’s injury like the one Terrell Owens suffered playing in Philly coming back in time to play ing the Super Bowl? Broken bone is a lot different than rebuilding a knee.
Richt did right by this kid–no hard feelings–let’s move on.
Uuugh
June 29th, 2011
1:15 pm
…and Foghorn Leghorne apparently.
Latest Bama News 6/29/2011 - Page 2
June 29th, 2011
1:35 pm
[...] Latest Bama News 6/29/2011 [h=1]UGA: Brent Benedict free to transfer anywhere he wants[/h] Reply With Quote + Reply to [...]
timboy
June 29th, 2011
1:56 pm
I know there are several people on this blog I don’t want to do any business with! Wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. You know who you are.
MikeP
June 29th, 2011
2:55 pm
sandman053
June 28th, 2011
1:57 pm
“Leatherhelmet said he met with Muschamp and Richt found out. I’d be interested to hear the real reason. If true, then Richt and McGarity are better men than me to allow no restrictions.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You believe stuff you read on that leatherhelmet site? You do know it’s there for foolishness and nothing else, right?
Jacket Man
June 29th, 2011
3:51 pm
Just a minor point; if a player who was offered a scholarship was worried about having it yanked if he got injured, how many do you think would commit to that school for fear they wouldn’t have a scholarship at any desired school if all of their slots were filled at the time they became became injured and had their scholly pulled.
UGA did the right thing honoring the scholarship and is being smart granting a full release as far as the goodwill it can be “sold” to future recruits.
AltamahaDawg
June 29th, 2011
4:00 pm
WDE, I wondered about that too. Got his own joke backwards didn’t he? Really aught to leave being a SA to the professionals.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 29th, 2011
4:07 pm
DOGS SMELL’
And you would still smell also. Whhat a childish comment. Have you finished high school yet?
GT79
June 29th, 2011
5:47 pm
I have to admire Mr. Garity’s approach – he has the best interest of the kid at heart and I think that speaks well of him. One player is not likely to cost a team a victory anyway and to be petty and not let him transfer to a rival, be it Tech or UF is sort of childish – so kudos to UGA in this instance!
GrantParkGator
June 29th, 2011
6:25 pm
UGA fans should welcome the extra scholly this year from a kid that may not play much or at all. Even if he enrolls at UF he’ll still have to sit out this season…which allows him another year to rehab.
no name
June 29th, 2011
7:11 pm
Enter your comments here
Brucerugby79
June 29th, 2011
7:37 pm
Charlotte Dawg—I pray you are not a real UGA fan–we do not need people like you–I hope you figure some things out in time–Good Luck Brent–and I am proud to have Mark as our Coach
john w. holmes
June 29th, 2011
7:46 pm
I am glad he’s gone. Was never that good and shows that 5 star rating was total BS. Richt better win the East this year and if not I want his head on a platter!
Team Dream
June 29th, 2011
8:51 pm
here’s a solution for you ‘Charlotte Dawg’ … start rooting for the Carolina Panthers instead. Word on the street is ‘Scam’ Newton and Auburn played the system to their advantage (lying, cheating, stealing, etc.) and it got them their National Championship. Now Cam is right there in Charlotte with you … enjoy.
And the troll of the day award goes to...
June 29th, 2011
10:50 pm
Charlotte Dawg.
» SEC: Lots of comings and goings at Arkansas John Clay’s Sidelines
June 29th, 2011
10:56 pm
[...] Georgia’s Brent Benedict free to transfer anywhere he wants to go [...]
flo-ri-duh
June 29th, 2011
11:06 pm
i WISH HIM LUCK BUT IF HE GOES TO ANOTHER SEC SCHOOL HE SHOUD HAVE TO SIT OUT A YEAR. hIS KNEE NEEDS ANOTHER YEAR OF REHAB
Top Dawg
June 29th, 2011
11:29 pm
Wait, is his last name Arnold?
Ramblin Man
June 30th, 2011
12:23 am
Kudos to UGA on the way they are handling things with this recruit.
class act
June 30th, 2011
4:01 am
I am hoping you hatas are taking note here. Last week the head coach is doing mission work in a country with dire poverty. This week, he is giving a young man another chance at living a dream wherever he wants. You all scream and yell for your national championship coach. I am proud to be a dawg fan knowing that this coach gets it!
Whatever
June 30th, 2011
4:14 am
Dooley beat UF 17 out of 25 years which is similar to what UF has done to us since he retired. During that time, UF played AU the week before GA-FL and we had an open weekend. When Spurrier got to UF, the SEC expanded and UF had to drop AU from its yearly schedule. Spurrier made sure he had open weekends before GA-Fl but we have not. Moreover, the game got moved up in the schedule by 2 weeks. So, it is hotter in Jax than it was when we were playing it before. UF is more used to the heat and humidity at that point than we are because things dry out and cool down in Oct.
Let’s look at schedules. UGA had an open weekend in 2007 and UF did not and UGA won by a 12. We did not have open weekends in 2010 and lost by 3 in OT, 2009 and lost by 24, 2008 and lost by 39, 2006 and lost by by 7, 2005 and lost by 4, 2003 and lost by 3, 2002 and lost by 7, 2001 and lost by 14. We did not have open weekends in 2004 and won by 7 and 1997 and won by 20. By contrast, UF open weekends – 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2010 and won. They had to play the week before us in 1997, 2004, 2007 and lost although they played games the week before us in 2008 and 2009.
Since Richt, the games have been close losses by in large. Goff beat UF in 1989, bad losses in 1990 and 1991 but very close losses in 1992 and 1993. Donnan lost bad in 1996, won in 1997, close losses in 1998 and 1999.
Scheduling more than anything else is killing us in this game.
Whatever
June 30th, 2011
4:19 am
Oh yeah, it seems like those who support this decision and don’t see college football as cut throat business are the ones who actually attended UGA. Those who are screaming about how UGA needs to approach this simply as a business with no concern for the students are those whoa have never seen the inside of a classroom at UGA.
Whatever
June 30th, 2011
4:21 am
Okay, the caveat is the Tech guy who thinks Richt and McGarrity did the classy thing. I am pretty sure he never set foot in a UGA classroon.
legionaire
June 30th, 2011
5:10 am
McGarity and Richt know that this kid would be a distraction and a waste of time if he is unhappy. I do disagree with signing a guy with a knee problem. Richt must have forgotten Sturdivant.
Warhorse
June 30th, 2011
7:38 am
McGarity shows a lot of class. He learned this philosophy re transfers from his years working with Spurrier. The ole ball coach figured if he could not beat a team on the gridiron, no sense in engaging in a bunch of mickey mouse retribution to keep ONE player from moving to wherever he chose. Will Muschamp has same philosophy picked up at UF. The pups could do a lot worse than emulate the Gators for off-the-field classiness.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 30th, 2011
8:24 am
Warhorse,
I kind of think that CMR had this chain of though a long time ago. It really doesn’t have to do with anything associated with UF. That is why people find it so easy to criticize CMR as being too soft or actually having a life outside of football. I am glad the AD beleives the way he does and supports CMR on this. Win or lose, the athletic staff is one to be proud of at UGA.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 30th, 2011
9:11 am
Good luck to the kid wherever he ends up. Glad to see this from McGarity and Richt.
H. Smyth
June 30th, 2011
12:37 pm
The Charlotte Dawg’s “mentality” scares me. And he probably helps select our so-called leaders.
Nate the Great
June 30th, 2011
4:50 pm
If he goes to Florida he will have to sit our two seasons, thats an SEC rule not NCAA’s one year rule.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 30th, 2011
5:19 pm
Nate,
I am not sure but I think the two year rule applies only if the kid was not granted his release unconditionally. Say for instance, he just decided to go to another SEC school and was not granted the release by the losing school. I could be wrong though. What say you CHIP?
dawg nation
June 30th, 2011
9:12 pm
Hey Benedict, “Dont let the door hit ya!!!!” Go Dawgs!!! Get lost dude!!
CHUCK UGA
June 30th, 2011
10:07 pm
Amazing how many idiots escape the asylum when given the chance. Just read some of the comments on here. Like some of you are “in the know” and are going to post something about the story on an AJC Sports Blog!! Give me a break.